Sound Off for Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014: Readers argue over state surplus

On drivers: This is to Wednesday's Sound Off caller commenting on the driving habits of young women. I'll ride with my granddaughter any time before riding with some man scanning the fields for deer or turkey or gawking at that young girl multitasking in her car.

On police officer's award: Regarding Page 2A Feb. 12, while I'm grateful that a man's life was saved, I'm not understanding the reason for the commendation and how the police officer's actions were beyond normal expectations of duty. Is it not a part of training to be a police officer to acquire the skills and actions this officer used that night?

On sexual abuse: The story on Page 6B Monday, “Military sex-abuse record revealed,” is from Tokyo, but the United States has many rapes and other sexual assaults that seem to slide, also. Victims remain victims the rest of their lives. People think sex scandals involving Catholic priests are horrible, but the military is getting to be just as bad.

On Obamacare: Regarding Page 6B Tuesday, “Employers see another delay in health law,” this is the 27th time the president has unilaterally and unconstitutionally changed his signature law. It narrowly passed Congress with only Democratic support. How many would have voted for it with the 27 changes?

On Janesville schools: It would be a transparent step for Superintendent Schulte and the board to update the public on the next steps with the Studer program. It is in its seventh school year, and we await word on how teachers will be evaluated in part on student-parent survey results. It seems bad form to collect so much information and not use it.

-- A big percentage of high school graduates will end up living in poverty. But if a superintendent, instead of running to China and Washington, D.C., or wherever she feels like going, would spend some of that time with the American students, maybe they would improve their skills.

On Green Tier: Regarding The Gazette's Our Views last Sunday, Janesville does not need to contract with the DNR Green Tier Legacy Program in order for the DNR to suggest the best trees to plant! They can keep their creepy contract.

On state surplus: Regarding Page 5A Wednesday, “Assembly OKs $504 million tax cut bill,” if your spouse and you own a home and both work, this cut will save you about $223 a year. That's not too bad. If you figure in the several hundred dollars in tax increases you would have gotten if Democrats were in control, it looks even better.

-- A Sound Off Wednesday claims Gov. Walker took money from schools and town roads. This caller is confused. It was Jim Doyle who robbed the transportation fund. Money from schools came from asking employees to contribute to their pensions and health care, something the rest of us have been doing a long time. It did not come out of the classroom.

-- Page 2A Feb. 11 says, “Burke: Too soon to spend surplus.” Mary Burke has no credibility on this issue. She worked in the Doyle administration, which left us $3.6 billion in debt. Now she wants to pretend she's a budget hawk? The reason she doesn't want to give the money back to the people it rightfully belongs to is she wants government to spend it.

On shooting training: Page 1A Feb. 5, “What if it happened here,” makes it sound like we would completely be ready for something like that. Nobody is ever ready for that, and how could any people who have training possibly be there for everything that goes on? The ones that are up to something just take that as an incentive to do something wrong.

On Girl Scout cookies: Why are they punishing the Girl Scouts who sell cookies? Who cares what other people said about adult issues, just like the caller said in the Feb. 12 Sound Off.

On bus incident: I'm calling in regard to Page 3A Feb. 13. The bus driver did the right thing; it's the mother playing the race card. She is asking for compensation? She should pay the bus driver for what the driver has gone through.

On car chase: Regarding the Sound Off comment Wednesday, are you kidding? You are blaming the car owner for a criminal trespassing on their property and stealing their car from the garage? If this is OK with you, why don't you print your address so the criminals can come and steal your car?

-- I can't believe this caller is blaming the owner of the car. A person should be able to leave a car running and unlocked anywhere; it should not be stolen. Let's blame the person who stole it. He must not have been taught you don't take things that don't belong to you. The thief is the one who put police in danger when he chose to steal the car.